President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of military and intelligence
officers on July 25 that Russia must strengthen its military and
espionage capacities in response to the planned U.S. missile-defense
system in Poland and the Czech Republic and any deployment of U.S.
troops in Eastern Europe, kremlin.ru and news agencies reported. He
argued that "the situation in the world and internal political
interests require the Foreign Intelligence Service to permanently
increase its capabilities, primarily in the field of information and
analytical support for the country's leadership." Putin did not
identify specific targets, but both Britain and the United States
recently reported increases in Russian espionage activity to Cold War
levels (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 30 and April 13, 2007). Putin also
said on July 25 that Washington has left "unanswered" his offers of
alternatives to its proposed missile-defense installations, but he did
not mention U.S. officials' statements that they are studying the
proposals. Putin added that "all-round strengthening of our military
forces is one of our indisputable priorities." Referring to his recent
suspension of Russia's compliance with the Treaty on Conventional
Forces in Europe (CFE), he noted that the treaty counted weapons in
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as part of what was once the Soviet
Baltic Military District. He told the assembled officers: "Maybe I
should appoint one of you as its commander?" Since his aggressive
speech in Munich on February 10, Putin has frequently engaged in tough
rhetoric that "The Economist" recently described as "neurotic bluster"
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 12 and 13, and June 4 and 5, 2007). It
was a favorite Soviet propaganda or negotiating tactic to take the role
of the injured victim before announcing a long-planned political or
military move, which was then presented as a response to a Western
"provocation" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 31, 2007). PM

On July 25, the weekly "Literaturnaya gazeta" published an article
entitled "No Longer Ashamed Of Our Country" that argues that Russia
"did the right thing" in suspending its compliance with the CFE Treaty.
The paper quoted military analyst and retired Major General Aleksandr
Vladimirov as saying that "we need to show everyone that the era of
humiliation and collapse associated with [the 1990s] is gone and won't
come back. We should not join any dubious alliances or comply with
treaties of dubious origin. Our task, and our right, is to follow our
security strategy precisely. I hope that a program for such a strategy
[to cover the period] up to 2050 will soon be adopted by our state and
military leadership." PM

The research ship "Akademik Fyodorov," which began an expedition from
Murmansk to the Barents Sea earlier this week to lay claim to the North
Pole, resumed its voyage on July 26 after the crew fixed an engine
problem, Interfax reported. State Duma deputy Artur Chilingarov of the
pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party, who is leading the expedition, said
recently on state-run television that "the Arctic is Russian. We must
prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf." The
Arctic Sea bed is believed to be rich in mineral wealth. Under
international law, Russia, the United States, Canada, Norway, and
Denmark (through Greenland) control an economic zone within 320
kilometers of their continental shelf, but the exact size of that shelf
is disputed. Russian polar exploration has a long and heroic tradition
dating from the Soviet era. If Russia were to press its claim to the
sea bed, it is not clear whether it has the technology to extract the
mineral wealth, including oil. It is currently unable to develop some
potential fields on its own territory without foreign assistance. PM

Opposition leader and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov wrote
in "The Wall Street Journal in Europe" of July 26 that anyone who wants
to know how President Putin's Russia works should read Mario Puzo's
"The Godfather," "Omerta," and other books on the mafia. Kasparov
argues that "Putin's government is unique in history. This Kremlin is
part oligarchy, with a small, tightly connected gang of wealthy rulers.
It is partly a feudal system, broken down into semi-autonomous fiefdoms
in which payments are collected from the serfs, who have no rights.
Over this there is a democratic coat of paint, just thick enough to
gain entry into the [Group of Eight countries] G8 and keep the
oligarchy's money safe in Western banks." Kasparov wrote that "the web
of betrayals, the secrecy, the blurred lines between what is business,
what is government, and what is criminal -- it's all there in...Puzo's
books.... [One notes] the strict hierarchy, the extortion, the
intimidation, the code of secrecy and, above all, the mandate to keep
the revenue flowing. In other words, a mafia." Kasparov argued that
"the Yukos case has become a model. Private companies are absorbed into
the state while at the same time the assets of the state companies move
into private accounts. [Aleksandr] Litvinenko was a KGB agent who broke
the loyalty code by fleeing to Britain. Worse, he violated the law of
'omerta' by going to the press and even publishing books about the
dirty deeds of...Putin and his foot soldiers. Instead of being taken
fishing in the old-fashioned Godfather style, he was killed in London
in the first recorded case of nuclear terrorism." Kasparov added that
"now the Kremlin is refusing to hand over the main suspect in the
murder," Andrei Lugovoi. PM

Opposition leader Kasparov noted in his article "Don Putin" in "The
Wall Street Journal in Europe" of July 26 that "after years of showing
no respect for the law in Russia, with no resulting consequences from
abroad, it should not come as a surprise that [President] Putin's
attitude extends to international relations as well." Kasparov pointed
out that "with energy prices so high, the temptation to sell out to the
Kremlin is an offer you almost can't refuse. [Former German Chancellor]
Gerhard Schroeder could not resist doing business with...Putin on his
terms and, after pushing through a Baltic Sea pipeline deal while in
office, he had a nice Gazprom job waiting for him when he left the
chancellorship." Kasparov stressed that "we in the Russian opposition
have been saying for a long time that our problem would soon be the
world's problem. The mafia knows no borders. Nuclear terror is not out
of the question if it fits in with the Kremlin business agenda.
Expelling diplomats and limiting official visits is not going to have
an impact." He urged the West not to break off business contacts with
Russia, but to realize their limitations, because "the mafia takes, it
does not give.... Putin has discovered that when dealing with Europe
and America, he can always exchange worthless promises of reform for
cold, hard cash.... [Murder suspect Andrei] Lugovoi may yet find
himself up for sale." Kasparov suggested that Western countries limit
"the Russian ruling elite's visits to their properties in the West.
Ironically, they like to keep their money where they can trust in the
rule of law, and so far...Putin and his wealthy supporters have every
reason to believe their money is safe." PM

Several hundred people gathered at a monument in Moscow on July 25 to
mark the 70th anniversary of the start of former Soviet leader Josef
Stalin's Great Purge of 1937-38, which claimed up to 2 million victims,
RFE/RL's Russian Service reported. Sergei Volkov, chairman of the
Russian Association of Victims of Political Repression, noted that "not
a single top [state] official" came to lay flowers at the monument,
which is located in front of the Moscow headquarters of the Federal
Security Service (FSB). He said that "there's a law [in Russia] on the
rehabilitation of the victims of political repressions that was drafted
by us, by public organizations, and was adopted and signed in 1991 by
President [Boris] Yeltsin." Volkov added that the law "states clearly
that the state recognizes its guilt. Today, for some reason, nobody
talks about it." Yury Brodsky, the director of a museum of the victims
of political repression at Solovki on the northern Solovetsky Islands,
said it has become increasingly difficult to gain access to archives
about the purges in recent years. He stressed that "until a proper
assessment of what happened is made, we won't be able to develop
further, and there is always a possibility of a recurrence of what
happened in one form or another." President Putin recently sought to
play down the importance of the purges and other unsavory aspects of
Russian and Soviet history, claiming that German Nazism and the United
States' use of nuclear weapons in 1945 were far worse (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," June 22 and July 10, 2007). On July 25, the respected Levada
Center released the results of a poll of 1,802 respondents aged 16-19
entitled "The Putin Generation: The Political Views Of Russia's Youth,"
Reuters reported. When asked if Stalin was a wise leader, half of the
respondents said yes. About 54 percent said that he did more good than
bad. PM

A police spokesman announced in Moscow on July 25 that police used a
sting operation to break up a three-year-old gang selling spare parts
for the Tupolev-154 passenger jet and Ilyushin-76 cargo plane from the
Saturn engine plant, which is Russia's biggest jet-engine maker, to
foreign and domestic buyers, news agencies reported. The spokesman
noted that some members of the gang are current or former employees of
Saturn, which is located in Rybinsk, north of Moscow, on the Volga
River. He did not disclose the names of the buyers. There have been
several crashes and other incidents involving Russian carriers in
recent years that have been ascribed at least in part to the use of
retooled or bootleg parts (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 2, 2006). PM

Nikolai Kiselyov, the governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast, denied on July 25
that he accepted a bribe, which he was purportedly shown taking in a
video posted on July 11 on the web site of declared presidential
candidate and Arkhangelsk Mayor Aleksandr Donskoi, newsru.com reported
on July 26. Following the posting, Donskoi was arrested under
humiliating circumstances. He previously said that he has been subject
to various forms of harassment by the authorities since announcing his
candidacy in October 2006. He and Kiselyov have a long-standing feud
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 20, 2007, and "Russia: Mayors In The
Crosshairs As 'Power Vertical' Gains Force," rferl.org, June 21, 2007).
PM

Speaking on Ingushetian television on July 25, Russian Deputy Interior
Minister Colonel General Arkady Yedelev announced that on instructions
from Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev an operation has been
launched against "bandits" and "militants" who have recently stepped up
their operations in that republic, ingushetiya.ru and kavkaz-uzel.ru
reported. Yedelev claimed that the Ingush population is alarmed and
outraged by "recent developments," but did not explain whether he was
referring to the ongoing abductions of Ingush men in neighboring North
Ossetia or the July 21 attack on President Murat Zyazikov's motorcade
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 23, 2007). During the night of July 25-26,
unknown gunmen opened fire from mortars on the permanent base in Nazran
of the Russian Interior Ministry forces deployed in Ingushetia,
lenta.ru and ingushetiya.ru reported. No casualties were reported in
that attack. LF

The self-styled Mudjaheds of Kabarda and Balkaria have claimed
responsibility for the deaths in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic (KBR)
of police officer Zaur Khamdokhov and police Major Akhmat Teberdiyev,
"Caucasus Times" reported on July 26. Khamdokhov was killed in early
June by an explosive device that detonated in his car; Teberdiyev was
shot late on July 23 as he parked his car at his home in Tyrnyayuz, and
died of his injuries two days later, regnum.ru and kavkaz-uzel.ru
reported. LF

Azerbaijani National Security Ministry personnel arrested Musfiq
Huseynov, a journalist with the opposition newspaper "Bizim yol" (Our
Path), late on July 24 as he accepted a bribe of $3,500 from Rizvan
Aliyev, a senior Labor and Social Security Ministry official, day.az
reported on July 25 quoting a statement from the Prosecutor-General's
Office. According to zerkalo.az, Huseynov demanded that payment in
return for not publishing compromising materials about Aliyev. The
National Security Ministry personnel then conducted a search of
Huseynov's apartment and confiscated two computers. Huseynov has
criticized the government's economic policies and written a number of
articles on corruption, including one that focused on Aliyev's
ministry, but he also cited comment from Aliyev personally. During
questioning on July 25, Huseynov denied accepting a bribe. He said he
took money from Aliyev in order to give to a third person, but
apparently did not explain to whom or for what purpose. LF

Baku's Military Court on July 25 sentenced Lieutenant Colonel Rasim
Muradov to three months' pretrial detention on charges of soliciting
bribes from conscripts when he held the post of chairman of the
commission that oversaw induction into the army and discharge into the
reserve, day.az reported. Muradov incurred the wrath of his senior
officers by requesting to be allowed to retire after 21 years' military
service (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 9, 19, and 25, 2007). Uzeir
Djafarov, a fellow officer who heads a committee to protect Muradov's
rights, was quoted on July 25 by day.az as pointing out that the charge
of accepting a bribe is unfounded as Muradov did not have the authority
to issue individual deferments. He also noted that Muradov was a member
of a commission that investigated and confirmed allegations that
Azerbaijani troops serving as peacekeepers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Kosova did not receive the full special pay to which they are entitled.
LF

The commission established earlier this month by President Mikheil
Saakashvili to determine the future status within Georgia of the
unrecognized republic of South Ossetia met for the first time late on
July 24 under its chairman, Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, Caucasus
Press reported. The commission established five working groups that
will focus respectively on legal and constitutional issues, finance,
education, culture, and the economy. Noghaideli said he hopes
opposition representatives will participate in the commission's work.
At its July 24 session, oppositionist Ivliane Khaindrava submitted for
discussion proposals for South Ossetia's status drafted by his
Republican party two years ago. Noghaideli also tasked Foreign Minister
Gela Bezhuashvili with persuading Russia and the EU to name
representatives to the commission, kavkaz-uzel.ru reported. But
Interfax quoted Russian Ambassador to Tbilisi Vyacheslav Kovalenko as
saying he very much doubts that Russia will accept that invitation.
Commission member Dmitry Sanakoyev, named by Saakashvili in May to head
an alternative pro-Tbilisi provisional government in South Ossetia,
argued that representatives of South Ossetia and North Ossetia should
be encouraged to participate in the commission's work. LF

Yevgeniy Sloboda, the head of the CIS observer mission deployed to
monitor the August 18 elections to the Mazhilis, or lower house of the
Kazakh parliament, on July 25 endorsed the election campaign as open
and transparent, Kazakhstan Today reported. Speaking in Astana, Sloboda
said the CIS observers have met with Kazakh Central Election Commission
members throughout the Akmola and Pavlodar districts and in the
capital, Astana, noting that they "are doing all they can to ensure
that the election is transparent and open." "We have not logged [any]
serious violations so far," he said. The CIS election-observer mission
comprises about 400 observers and is formally led by Vladimir Rushailo,
the CIS executive secretary and former head of the Russian National
Security Council (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 18, 2007). RG

The chairman of the Kazakh presidential commission on human rights,
Saginbek Tursunov, on July 25 complained that a number of laws do not
comply with international standards, according to Interfax-Kazakhstan.
In an address to a conference in Astana, Tursunov said, "some of our
laws do not comply with the international conventions that we have
ratified in our parliament," and pointed to "discrepancies" between
Kazakh laws and international standards "protecting human life and
children's rights." He also reported that, for the first time, the
state commission on human rights has implemented an evaluation of
Kazakh legislation together with international organizations, academic
experts, and representatives from Kazakhstan's civil society in a
process leading to the government's modification of several bills. At
the same conference, Kazakh Supreme Court Judge Raisa Yurchenko also
criticized the fact that citizens' access to justice is "not fully
ensured," and noted that "access to justice [means] impartiality of
courts, openness and transparency of court hearings, the right to
receive qualified legal advice, the right to be heard at a trial and be
present at a trial on his/her case, and the implementation of a court
ruling in a timely way." RG

At a press conference in Dushanbe, Finance Minister Safarali
Nadzhmuddinov on July 25 released a new statistical report showing a
sharp increase in Tajikistan's foreign debt, Asia-Plus reported.
According to the report, foreign debt grew by about $20.48 million
since the beginning of the year, reaching a total of $886.83 million,
or more than 28 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The
minister also reported that the Tajik government has implemented the
planned increases in investment outlined in the state budget adopted
last November, including greater spending in several key areas, most
notably the education, health-care, and agriculture sectors (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," November 27, 2006). RG

At a ceremony in Dushanbe on July 25, unnamed senior officials of the
Tajik Interior Ministry formally thanked U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan
Tracey Jacobson for the donation of a sizable amount of new equipment
presented by the U.S. Embassy, Asia-Plus reported. The United States
provided the Tajik Interior Ministry with equipment and facilities
worth more than $1.4 million, including a complete forensic laboratory
and a police academy training center. The U.S. assistance, channeled
through the U.S. State Department's International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Assistance Program, is part of a broader $15 million effort
to assist Tajik law enforcement personnel. The assistance effort began
in 2005 and has included specific assistance for the Tajik
Counternarcotics Unit and Trafficking in Persons/Organized Crime Unit,
as well as aid in modernizing computer and language-training classrooms
and advanced investigative equipment for local police. RG

Zohid Mirzaev, an Uzbek refugee who was detained after crossing the
Czech-German border earlier in July, was released on July 25 from Czech
custody, according to RFE/RL's Uzbek Service. Both Mirzaev and fellow
refugee Omanullo Maqsudov were detained by Czech police, acting on an
Interpol warrant filed by the Uzbek authorities, who are seeking the
two refugees' extradition (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 18, 2007).
Although Germany has granted both men refugee status, Maqsudov remains
in custody awaiting a court ruling on the extradition request. A
similar case came to light in November 2001, when prominent Uzbek
opposition leader and poet Muhammad Solih was detained by Czech police
acting on an Uzbek extradition request, despite the fact that he had
been granted political asylum in Norway and was only in the Czech
Republic to attend a conference (see "RFE/RL Newsline," November 30 and
December 11 and 12, 2001). RG

Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of the opposition Movement for Freedom,
told journalists on July 25 that more than 60 opposition activists have
been detained throughout Belarus within the past five days, Belapan
reported. The wave of arrests reportedly came as a preemptive measure
ahead of a planned opposition protest in Minsk on July 27, which is to
coincide with the 17th anniversary of Belarus's Declaration of State
Sovereignty. In addition to four youth opposition activists jailed on
July 24 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 25, 2007), Belarusian courts have
also handed down jail sentences ranging from seven to 15 days to
Alyaksey Shydlouski, Syarzhuk Klyuyeu, Alyaksey Bondar, Valyantsin
Sakalouski, Alyaksandr Charnyshou, Kiryl Matskevich, and Uladzimir
Syarheyeu. "We call for an end to political harassment by the
authorities and the immediate release of [Pavel] Sevyarynets and
[Alyaksey] Shein, and all other political prisoners in Belarus,
including former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin," the U.S.
Embassy in Belarus said in a statement on July 25. Sevyarynets and
Shein were jailed on July 24 for 15 days each. JM

A trainload of toxic yellow phosphorus gathered from the scene of a
recent train derailment in Lviv Oblast (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 23,
2007) left for Kazakhstan on July 26, accompanied by two fire-fighting
trains, Interfax-Ukraine reported, quoting Ukraine's Emergency
Situations Ministry. The train derailment on July 16 spilled several
tanks of liquid yellow phosphorus, which caught fire, releasing a toxic
cloud. More than 100 people, including 20 children, are still
hospitalized as a result. The cargo, dispatched by Kazakhstan's
Kazfosfat company, which makes yellow phosphorus and fertilizers, was
traveling to Poland when the train derailed. JM

Diplomats from the six countries that have led international diplomatic
efforts in the Balkans since the mid-1990s -- Britain, France, Germany,
Italy, Russia, and the United States -- on July 25 agreed to start a
new round of talks on the future of Kosova, but failed to agree on a
deadline, according to unconfirmed reports in the international media.
On July 20, Western powers abandoned efforts to forge a consensus in
the UN Security Council, concluding that the Contact Group should take
the diplomatic lead in searching for a solution (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
July 23, 2007). The Contact Group reportedly concluded that a troika of
mediators -- from the EU, Russia, and the United States -- should first
embark on shuttle diplomacy between Belgrade and Prishtina and then, if
possible, convene bilateral talks between Belgrade and Prishtina.
Brussels and Washington had wanted talks to last for no more than 120
days, a demand reportedly rejected by Moscow. Russia rejected a similar
suggestion during talks held within the framework of the United
Nations. Media reports have suggested that direct talks between Kosovar
and Serbian leaders could begin as early as August. The Contact Group's
talks, which were held in Berlin, were preceded by a range of talks and
signals: U.S. officials have reiterated their commitment to
independence for Kosova, possibly by the end of the year; the Serbian
parliament on July 24 promised to "respond immediately and
energetically" if the United States and EU states recognize Kosova as
independent without UN support; and Serbia and Russia have both
welcomed the Contact Group's decision to lead diplomatic efforts, but
insist that any final decision on Kosova's future must be made by the
UN Security Council. U.S. doubts about the value of returning the
question of Kosova's future to the UN were expressed on July 24 by the
U.S. envoy to Kosova, Frank Wisner, who told reporters that "based on
last week's experience, I simply don't think it [a return to Security
Council] would be a useful path." AG

The UN envoy who recommended that Kosova be granted independence,
Martti Ahtisaari, told Finnish public broadcaster Yle on July 25 that
he believes his "work is done," and that neither the UN nor the Contact
Group have asked him to continue as a mediator. The former Finnish
president said, however, that he would be willing to take on "a role as
consultant" if asked. Ahtisaari also said he expects the issue of
Kosova to return to the UN and that "everyone involved hopes there will
be a resolution after these talks." Ahtisaari has consistently been
attacked by Serbia and Russia since he presented the plan in early
February, both for allegedly not acting as an honest broker and for his
recommendations, which would end Serbia's nominal sovereignty over the
UN-administered region. Some of those reservations were voiced again in
recent days by Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who told the July
24 edition of the Serbian daily "Vecernje novosti" that Ahtisaari "did
not do his job well, as the solution was not the result of a
compromise. I do not think it would be good to go on with the old
envoy." Ahtisaari took up the role of UN envoy in November 2005, but
failed to broker an agreement between Belgrade and Prishtina in the
ensuing 14 months. The Contact Group did not name a successor to
Ahtisaari when it met on July 25. AG

However, the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, on
July 24 became the latest of a series of European leaders and officials
to insist that any solution for Kosova "should be found in the
framework of the Ahtisaari plan," international media reported. U.S.
Kosova envoy Wisner expressed a similar view, telling the Kosovar
Albanian daily "Express" on July 25 that Washington would not agree to
the reopening of key aspects of the Ahtisaari package -- "the
provisions on the municipalities, churches, international civil
supervision, the presence of NATO...." However, the paper reported that
Wisner indicated there is room for talks on a number of issues,
including the return of refugees and future relations between Kosova
and Serbia. In the four months between Ahtisaari's submission of his
recommendation and the failure of efforts to forge a consensus in the
UN, Western powers have gradually softened their initially adamantine
support for Ahtisaari's plans in a number of ways, agreeing, for
instance, to a further fact-finding mission and then to additional
bilateral talks on Kosova's future. According to Serbian media reports,
during the debate that culminated in a resolution adopted by the
Serbian parliament on July 24 in which it vowed never to cede
sovereignty over Kosova, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica hailed the
withdrawal of the UN resolution as a victory for Serbia after "a long,
trench-like battle" and concluded that "Ahtisaari's era is finally over
and his plan now belongs to the past." In his interview with "Vecernje
novosti," Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremic was less definitive in his
judgment, saying that there is a "diminishing degree of support" for
the Ahtisaari plan. "Initially many countries supported that plan," he
said. "Then we reached a stage in which they supported Ahtisaari's
efforts, and now we have come to a situation of having Ahtisaari's
efforts being used as a basis." AG

The Constitutional Court of the Republika Srpska, the Bosnian
Serb-dominated autonomous region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, ruled on July
25 that the region's anthem "does not reflect the interests of all
three constituent peoples" and therefore contravenes a state-level
ruling that symbols in the country must be inclusive, local media
reported. The new ruling, which was carried by six votes to one,
followed a suit brought by Bosnian Muslim politicians in the region.
Republika Srpska's parliament on May 31 voted to keep its old anthem,
which is the same as Serbia's, but not to use the words (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," April 25, June 1 and 12, 2007). The region's president,
Milan Jelic, said on July 25 that the anthem, "Boze pravde" (God of
Justice), is not insulting and insisted that Republika Srpska
institutions should continue to use it "on solemn occasions as a
ceremonial song," the news agency SRNA reported. However, Jelic said
that he will now ask the parliament to find a new anthem. AG

Forty percent of Bosnian Serbs believe that their wartime leaders,
Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, should be extradited to stand trial
at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY), the daily "Nezavisne novine" reported on July 23, citing the
results of a poll conducted in mid-June by the marketing agency
Strategic Marketing. This is a narrow plurality: a slightly smaller
percentage, 37 percent, believe they should not be extradited. A large
number (21 percent) are undecided, while 2 percent refused to give an
answer. July 25 was the 12th anniversary of their indictment by the
ICTY. The ICTY believes Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs' military leader, is
hiding in Serbia, but says it knows nothing about the whereabouts of
Karadzic, the wartime political leader (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 28,
2007). Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik has called for the
two men to give themselves up, asking rhetorically: "Who are they for a
whole nation to suffer for them, both in the Republika Srpska and in
Serbia, because a certain Mladic has decided that he does not want to
surrender and go to court? Or Karadzic? And then they say -- I love the
Serbian people. The hell they love us. They are pushing us into ever
deeper problems" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 28, 2007). Ethnic
Serbs' support for ICTY trials for Mladic and Karadzic stands in
contrast to their view of the ICTY itself: only 28 percent support the
work of the tribunal, 63 percent believe defendants do not receive a
fair trial in The Hague (33 percent believe they do), and 87 percent
believe that the ICTY has "the least favorable attitude" toward the
Serbs. In all, 44 percent of Serbs said cooperation with the ICTY is
vital for the interests of the Republika Srpska, the autonomous region
in which most Serbs live. By contrast, 48 percent thought that it was
not vital. In Bosnia-Herzegovina's other autonomous region, the
Muslim-Croat Federation, support for the ICTY stands at 76 percent,
with 77 percent stating that cooperation is of vital importance. There
was also a starkly different view of a ruling in February in which the
UN's top court, the International Court of Justice, cleared Serbia of
genocide, though it judged the massacre at Srebrenica to be an act of
genocide. In the Republika Srpska, 68 percent viewed the ruling as
just, while 83 percent in the Muslim-Croat Federation thought it
unjust. AG

Taliban militants on July 25 killed one of 23 South Korean hostages
being held in Ghazni Province as negotiations stalled with the Afghan
government over a prisoner exchange, AFP reported. The hostage's
bullet-ridden body was found near where the group of Christian
volunteers was seized last week. "We killed one of the Koreans today
because the government is not being honest in talks," Taliban spokesman
Qari Yusof Ahmadi told AFP by telephone from an unknown location. Seoul
called the murder of the hostage an "unforgivable atrocity." Ghazni
Governor Mirajuddin Pattan and the Taliban both denied a report by
South Korea's Yonhap news agency that eight other hostages were freed
on July 25. Taliban militants had set two successive deadlines for the
Afghan government to start releasing Taliban prisoners, but both passed
without word of any release. Such an exchange would violate Afghan
President Hamid Karzai's pledge not to swap prisoners for hostages, a
promise made after his government in March freed five Taliban militants
for the release of an Italian reporter (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April
10, 2007). JC

[27] ITALIAN MINISTER CALLS FOR U.S. TO END ONE MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said on July 25 that the
United States should end its Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,
citing the "unacceptable" number of civilian deaths from military
operations, turkishpress.com reported the same day. D'Alema told
parliament that Enduring Freedom, which is aimed at fighting Al-Qaeda
and does not involve NATO, often poorly coordinates with the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, causing
losses among civilians that "cannot be justified," Russia's RIA Novosti
news agency reported. D'Alema added that the civilian deaths are a
political disaster, causing tension between the Afghan government and
international forces. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack,
however, responded by blaming Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces for the
civilian casualties, saying that militants often use innocent people,
including children, as human shields to try to prevent attacks.
McCormack added that the U.S. operation and NATO efforts are separate
"yet complementary missions." JC

Britain's Defense Ministry said on July 25 that a British soldier was
killed and two others injured when an explosion destroyed their vehicle
in Afghanistan's volatile southern Helmand Province, AFP reported. The
soldiers were returning to base from a routine patrol in a Vector
vehicle, the ministry said in a statement. An emergency response
helicopter transported all three soldiers to the ISAF medical facility
at Camp Bastion for treatment, but one did not survive, the statement
said. The two other servicemen did not sustain life-threatening
injuries. An overnight rocket attack on an Afghan National Army unit in
Wardak Province also left a French Army instructor dead, the French
Defense Ministry said. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in
2001, 65 British and 11 French troops have died there. JC

British Foreign Minister David Miliband on July 25 expressed support
for the Afghan government's efforts to root out corruption "from the
bottom up as well as the top down," emphasizing the importance of
national leadership in doing so, Reuters reported. Miliband met with
Afghan President Karzai in Kabul before traveling to British military
headquarters in Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province. British officials have
expressed concern over rampant corruption in Afghanistan's national and
local governments and the judiciary, warning that Afghans who lose
faith in their officials are more likely to support the Taliban. Karzai
said that major obstacles remain in attempting to eradicate corruption,
particularly in Afghanistan's lawless southern regions, which bear the
brunt of insurgent violence, Miliband told reporters in Lashkar Gah.
Karzai also recognized the challenge of trying to include Taliban or
tribal leaders in local government in areas previously ruled by either
group. JC

Intelligence Minister Gholamhussein Mohseni-Ejei told the press in
Tehran on July 25 that his ministry has identified the "main branches"
inside "media circles" and other elements related to an allegedly
subversive current in Iran, which he said is financed or coordinated by
the United States, IRNA reported. He was responding to a reporter's
question on information yielded by what Iran has termed the
"confessions," shown on television, of Haleh Esfandiari and Kian
Tajbakhsh, two Iranian-American detainees accused of subversive
activities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 19, 2007). Mohseni-Ejei said
the authorities have taken action against the main branches of the
alleged subversive network, the identity of which might be revealed in
due course, suggesting that arrests may have taken place. He added that
the law allows prison sentences to be reduced for suspects cooperating
with the state during their interrogations, though it was not
immediately clear if he was referring to Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh, or
unspecified detainees. Mohseni-Ejei also firmly rejected allegations
that students currently held a Tehran prison have been "pressured" or
tortured, as claimed in a public letter to the judiciary chief by their
parents (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 25, 2007). The minister was
speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting. VS

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad also spoke to the press after the meeting
on July 25, and said, "Iran's definite policy is to back [Iraq's]
government, security, and that country's territorial integrity," IRNA
reported. He said the aim of the recent meeting between Iranian and
U.S. envoys was to help Iraq, though he admitted he has not yet seen a
full report of the talks held in Baghdad on July 24. Foreign Minister
Manuchehr Mottaki said separately the same day in Tehran that Iran has
accepted holding talks with its "enemies" for the sake of Iraqi
security and stability, IRNA reported. Mottaki said Iraq is suffering
the effects of terrorism, but "all the problems of Iraq and the region
are due to America's mistaken policy." The Middle East, he said, is
above all threatened by "instability and...insecurity due to foreign
aggression." Speaking during or after a meeting with a delegation of
Assyrian Christians, Mottaki said Iran has shown its respect for a
multicultural society and "all the followers of monotheistic religions"
by giving an Assyrian one of the 290 seats in parliament. Western
states, he said, refuse their minorities such rights, and violate the
"most basic human and civil rights" of Muslims. VS

Interior Minister Mustafa Purmohammadi said in Tehran on July 25 that
"we want the elections to be entirely computerized and mechanized,"
referring to parliamentary elections scheduled for next March. He said
the use of machines would preclude "a lot of talk" about election
results and "interference" in vote counting, which have caused
political tensions after past elections, IRNA reported. He said the
Guardians Council, the key supervisory body for elections, has agreed
in principle to computerized voting, and "we have to agree on details.
I think, God willing, this [election] will go beyond previous periods
in terms of its good health, precision, speed, and creating
confidence." He added that he sees no problem if party representatives
observe procedures in polling stations or even at the Interior
Ministry's electoral headquarters, IRNA reported. VS

Hojjatoleslam Hasan Rohani, Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator and
a prominent centrist politician, is reportedly trying to form a
"coalition of moderates from various factions" for the coming
parliamentary elections, ISNA reported on July 25, quoting Yadullah
Tahernejad, a member of the centrist Executives of Construction party.
Rohani is a mid-ranking cleric, considered to have good ties with
Expediency Council chief Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He led Iran's nuclear negotiations during the
presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami, who preceded President
Ahmadinejad. Tahernejad told ISNA that Rohani is currently
"negotiating" with various factions including the Executives of
Construction, and will "switch on" this "great movement" in coming
days. Separately, Shamsuddin Vahabi, a member of the reformist
Participation Front, told ISNA the same day that his party has stated
its firm support for a reformist coalition in the elections. He said
the Participation Front has held meetings with two leading members of
the reformist Militant Clerics Assembly, Abdulvahed Musavi-Lari and
Majid Ansari, who are among the politicians working to build a
reformist coalition. VS

Relatives have expressed concern about the well-being of Mansur Osanlu,
the head of the Tehran bus drivers' union, who was detained by security
agents on July 10, Radio Farda reported on July 24. Osanlu's mother
told Radio Farda that day that she and Osanlu's wife visited judicial
authorities to inquire about her son's condition, and were told they
would not be able to meet with him for another month. She rejected any
suggestion that her son, who has several times run afoul of authorities
for his labor activities, acted against national security. It is not
clear if Osanlu has been formally charged with an offense. His wife,
Parvaneh Osanlu, also told the broadcaster she has had no information
about him for almost two weeks. A labor activist, Sadeq Kargar,
separately told Radio Farda he believes Iran's government might force
Osanlu to make "confessions" similar to the recently televised
statements of two Iranian-American detainees (see above). VS

The Iraqi Accordance Front announced on July 25 that it will
immediately suspend all participation in the government of Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki and threatened a complete withdrawal unless the
bloc's package of demands is met within a week, international media
reported. One of the front's members, Sheikh Khalaf Al-Ulayyan, read a
prepared statement demanding that the government disband all Shi'ite
militias, pardon security detainees who have not been charged with
crimes, make a firm commitment to human rights, and give the Iraqi
Accordance Front real participation in the decision-making process. The
threat came nearly a week after the bloc announced the end of their
five-week boycott of the Iraqi parliament after an agreement was
reached to reinstate parliament speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," July 20, 2007). The front has five cabinet members
as well as 44 seats in the 275-seat parliament. SS

Approximately 75 tribal sheikhs, representing 25 clans and tribes in
the Diyala Governorate, gathered in the town of Al-Khalis to discuss
security issues and call for unity against Al-Qaeda and other
terrorists in the region, the U.S. military said in a statement
released July 24. The meeting took place at the Iraqi Army headquarters
in Al-Khalis and was attended by several U.S. and Iraqi military
officials, including Staff Major General Abd al-Karim, the commander of
Iraqi security forces in Diyala Governorate, and Colonel David
Sutherland, the commander of coalition forces in Diyala. The meeting
resulted in a peace agreement, signed by 18 tribal leaders, which
includes pledges to provide greater cooperation with the Iraqi security
forces, to report on improvised explosive devices, and to resolve
disputes between tribes through local meetings. In addition, several
tribal leaders called for a united effort to combat Al-Qaeda elements.
"Our goal is to be united and cooperate [in fighting] any force that
wishes to challenge our unity," said one tribal sheikh. "We have to
show the people that we are honest and serious about fighting against
Al-Qaeda." SS

In an interview with "Al-Hayat" on July 24, Abdallah al-Jaburi, the
former governor of Diyala, denied earlier rumors that he was arrested
by U.S. and Iraqi forces, and instead said he has received support from
U.S. forces. He said he continues to head the Diyala National Salvation
Front, a coalition of political parties and armed groups, allegedly
supported by U.S. forces, that aim to eliminate Iranian-backed militias
and Al-Qaeda in Iraq elements from the region. "The Diyala National
Salvation Front has so far not received any [Iraqi] government support.
We work in cooperation with the U.S. forces to ensure that Diyala
Governorate is protected from any Iranian interference or from the
Al-Qaeda Organization," al-Jaburi said. He claimed that rumors of his
arrest were spread by people who wanted to tarnish his reputation
before elections in the governorate. On July 23, "Al-Hayat" reported
that al-Jaburi was arrested for allegedly coordinating efforts between
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the defunct Ba'ath Party, and the Iranian resistance
group Mujahedin Khalq (MKO) (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 24, 2007). SS

Two suicide bombings targeting Iraqis celebrating their national soccer
team's victory in the Asia Cup killed at least 50 people and wounded
more than 130 on July 25, international media reported. The first
attack took place in Baghdad's Al-Mansur neighborhood when a suicide
bomber attacked a group of Iraqis cheering their soccer team in front
of an ice cream parlor. The second attack occurred about an hour later
at an army checkpoint in the mixed neighborhood of Al-Gadir, where
dozens of Iraqis were celebrating their team's victory. The Iraqi team
beat South Korea in a semifinal game at the Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur,
winning a tense penalty shoot-out 4-3 after the two sides played to a
scoreless draw in 90 minutes of regulation play and 30 minutes of extra
time. Iraq will now play Saudi Arabia in the final on July 29 in
Jakarta, Indonesia. SS

Sheikh Ali al-Saidi, a leading member of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr's political movement, on July 25 condemned the U.S. bombardment
of Al-Sadr City in Baghdad earlier that day, claiming that the attacks
killed several civilians, the web site of Al-Alam television reported.
"The shellings come as part of a scheme to attack the Iraqi nation in
general, and the Al-Sadr movement in particular," al-Saidi said. "These
attacks targeted civilians." He said that U.S. forces kill Iraqi
civilians daily, and that this is harming the dignity of the Iraqi
people. "Given the continued U.S. attacks, we can no longer call Iraq a
sovereign state," he said. SS

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced on July 25 that his
country received an Airbus A-300 passenger jet as a goodwill gesture
from Iran, AFP reported. He said the plane was delivered last week and
will be used by Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki for official travel
purposes. "This was a gift from the Iranian government to the Iraqi
people," al-Dabbagh said. SS

Independent Kurdish parliamentarian Mahmud Uthman told RFE/RL on July
24 that Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders are still in talks to form a
so-called moderates' front in the Iraqi National Assembly. Uthman
discussed overtures made to the Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic Party to join
the front.

RFE/RL: Can you tell us about the efforts that are being undertaken to
form a moderates' front [in the parliament]?

Mahmud Uthman: There are efforts to bring together four parties.
Already they have signed some documents [towards this, but] it's not
declared yet. They call them moderates because there are other
[coalitions] like Sadrists [supporters of radical cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr], like some other parts of the Arab Sunni list and so on.

These four parties, which are Al-Da'wah Party, SCIRI [now SIIC, the
Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council], KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party] and
PUK [Patriotic Union of Kurdistan], they have been friends for a long
time. They were in the opposition together, so they have a lot of
things in common, these people.

They are trying to bring in the Iraqi Islamic Party so there will be at
least five [parties], and it will [then] include all the elements of
Iraqi society -- the Arab Sunnis, the Arab Shi'ites, the Kurds, and
everybody -- and then they will declare [the formation of the front].
So, I don't know whether the efforts [to include] the Islamic Party
will succeed or not. They are now in the process of [trying to elicit]
others to join the front.

RFE/RL: The Iraqi Islamic Party said two days ago that they have
conditions that must be met before they would consider joining the
front.

Uthman: Yes, there are some conditions. They say they have been
marginalized by the government. They are not part of the
decision-making [process] and they think they are marginalized and they
think there is no balance in the courts -- the high courts of the state
-- they mean between Sunnis and Shi'a. So they think they should be
given more attention, the Arab Sunni side should have [a greater] role
in the government, and they shouldn't be marginalized.

That means they [should] say which political formula, that means them
joining this front, should go [hand in hand] with an executive formula
which guarantees that they have more rights in the government.

They have these conditions and they have already presented a memorandum
to the prime minister [Nuri al-Maliki]. They have [presented] a
memorandum to the Americans [and] to the parliament. So, those things
are discussed, two parallel lines -- one political, one executive. We
don't know how things will go but we hope there will be some success.

RFE/RL: There were reports in the Iraqi newspapers on July 21 that the
cabinet might be changed and maybe there will be a Sunni Arab
president. Is there any truth to these reports?

Uthman: There will be a change in the cabinet, but that is only to fill
the vacancies. There are now seven vacancies in the cabinet. Six
ministries are vacant because the Sadrists withdrew; a seventh position
is vacant because an Iraqi deputy minister resigned. Also there is [an
eighth] vacant because of the controversy over the Iraqi culture
minister [As'ad al-Hashimi, who is accused in a 2005
assassination]....So, there should be eight or seven ministers
appointed to fill these vacancies.

This is the only thing which is going on now. But there is no talk of
changing the whole cabinet. If those talks on the political and
executive changes go [ahead], then there may be a change of a bigger
[nature].

RFE/RL: But there's no talk of changing the president?

Uthman: No, there's no talk. Some people...have been saying that it's
better to have a Sunni Arab president because the foreign minister is
Kurdish and the president is Kurdish, so one of them [in the Sunni Arab
view] should be [a Sunni Arab]. But now nobody talks about this, I mean
nobody has put any motion [forward] either in the parliament or in the
cabinet.

RFE/RL: The Shi'a and the Kurds are hoping that the Islamic Party will
join their moderates' front but it doesn't appear that the Islamic
Party is prepared to leave the Iraqi Accordance Front.

Uthman: No, they will not leave. Each [party] will not leave its main
bloc. There is a cooperation between these parties to create a bigger
bloc in parliament to cooperate with each other. But it doesn't mean
that any of these parties will leave their original blocs,
parliamentarian blocs. They will stay there. But they have the right,
according to the blocs' program, to make coalitions in cooperation with
other parties within the political process.

RFE/RL: So, the Islamic Party will remain with the Accordance Front,
but they may join the moderates' front?

Uthman: Yes.

RFE/RL: Do you believe that the other parties to the Accordance Front
will join the moderates' front?

Uthman: I really don't know, but they may because the moderates' front
or what they call the moderates' front -- there is no [official] name
for it yet -- it is open to other parties [and] the other political
parties could join [as well]. [The front] is not closed [to other
parties].

RFE/RL: Iyad Allawi has been working to form a new front for
secularists. Will he join this front or pursue his own front?

Uthman: Well, Iyad Allawi says there is no secularism [now] and [he
believes] everything is based on the sects [religious or ethnic]. But
still he is the head of one bloc and he has a party also. It's up to
him. As far as I heard from his party, they don't mind if he accepts
those principles [of the moderates' front]. He could come into
negotiations and join but I think he has no intention to join, based on
his previous [public statements].

RFE/RL: KDP head and Kurdish regional President Mas'ud Barzani will
travel to Baghdad this week and there are reports that the political
parties may meet to discuss the formal establishment of the moderates'
front....

Uthman: [Barzani] will be in Baghdad on Tuesday [July 24]...and I think
when he comes, we will know a few things about the general issues and
about this front also because he is the leader of the Kurdistan region
and he is the leader of the [Kurdistan] Democratic Party. So when there
is a summit between the political leaders, he will be there and he will
join them.